Gallery East Press Release
Len Davis, a Los-Angeles-based pop artist, will share his mixed-media collages to students and interested visitors at Utah State University Eastern on Thursday, March 23 in the Central Instruction Building (CIB). He will share his experiences, discuss his media and speak on his creative process in the CIB Auditorium (CIB 101) from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Davis was born in Philadelphia, PA and now lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. He attended East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, where he majored in Communication and minored in Art. Davis’ artwork has been featured on popular TV channels, such as Showtime, NBC, HBO, ABC and many others.
Davis grew up surrounded by graffiti, but decided that art form was not for him. The style that he produces focuses mainly on assemblage, collage and drawings on paper. His art deals with emotional expressions like anger, fear and love. It also deals with identity and perception. Davis describes his taste as eclectic. He uses several different elements in his art, including mixed media and vibrant colors.
Davis’s choice of media varies as much as the emotional themes of his work. “I work in assemblage, collage, drawing and works on paper, which revolves around themes of everyday life issues we encounter with the human figure present,” he said. “My concepts vary from emotional expressions, responses or outcome (anger, chance, fear, happiness, hate, hurt, jealousy, love, regret, risk, vulnerability, etc.), identity, perception, coping within the human condition, etc. I have eclectic taste.”
Though his collages feature a variety of colors and images, Davis intends to catch the viewer’s attention with a style or approach. “My style is a combination of several elements with heavy emphasis on illustration, mixed media and vibrant colors with the human figure in an action-type, comic book, expressive pose and/or movie poster-like look and feel. It’s like a pizza with everything on it. Once you take that first bite, you’re inundated with flavor. And that’s what I strive for in my work. Because life hits you all at once.”
The colors and imagery vary, but Davis hopes to strike a chord of familiarity in those who see the work. “I occasionally insert my past experiences in my art. I believe that some of my experiences, in some cases, parallel others for a sense of relatability. My premise is to lure the viewer in. Once they’re in, they will be placed in a position to reflect on and question their ethics, be it disquieting or placid.”
Davis‘s artwork has been featured all around the United States. It has been exhibited in museums and in galleries on the campuses of The University of Iowa, Augustana University, Louisburg College, Snow College and Radford University.
Davis will also give a workshop on March 23 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in CIB 105. Interested students, faculty and public are welcome to attend. Both presentations are free and open to the public.
If you have any questions about these events, contact Noel Carmack at (435) 613-5241 or Christopher Kanyusik at (435) 613-5203.
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- Len Davis
